Rory McIlroy told the two golfers he won’t sit with at Masters dinner due to unwritten rule

Rory McIlroy is preparing to host his first Masters Champions dinner after getting his hands on the famous green jacket in 2025.

The Northern Irish superstar finally won the major that had eluded him his entire career last year, beating Justin Rose in a nail-biting play-off to complete the career grand slam.

He returns to Augusta National as the defending champion and will sit down with previous winners two days before the tournament begins for an exclusive gathering of golfers who have won at the world’s most prestigious course.

Every former winner is invited but McIlroy has already been informed that two seats are unavailable.

As revealed by 2015 winner Jordan Speith, sitting alongside Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus is a no-go.

McIlroy is hosting his first champions dinner (Getty)

“There are no necessarily assigned seats, but I'm definitely not going to sit in the area where Tiger and Jack sit.

“Like, there are kinds of spots where you feel you'll naturally flow into.”

He added: “It's kind of like 6th, 7th grade. If the teacher they have assigned seats you get all bummed, and if they let you sit wherever you want you end up sitting in the same spot anyways.

"It's kind of the same deal. Sit with Scottie [Scheffler], but then when Scottie wins, you know, he's done that twice in the last three or four or so. There's a certain section on the far side from where we sit where you don't sit, because it's Jack and Tiger. And that's where Arnie [Palmer] was."

This year, one seat may be empty with Woods not yet confirmed to be attending the champions dinner after recently being arrested following a road traffic incident.

The 50-year-old has confirmed he will not be playing in the tournament and will temporarily be stepping away from the sport after being detained and charged with driving under the influence in Florida.

Speith will be present to enjoy McIlroy’s menu which the Brit claims is ‘from the heart’ and a ‘little bit of nostalgia’.

Grilled elk sliders and rock shrimp tempura will be on offer as appetizers with tuna carpaccio served to guests as the first course. A choice of wagyu filet mignon or seared salmon will be followed by sticky toffee pudding for dessert.